Race Finishing Coincidence

In September 2011 I took part in my second Great North Run with around 50,000 other runners. As I crossed the finish line a fellow runner (who I had not seen before) and I shared a friendly look of exhaustion. He exclaimed that he had managed to get under 2 hours for the first time and showed me his watch. We congratulated each other on the run and went on our own separate ways.<br /> In June 2012, nearly a year later, I took part in the Blaydon Race in which over 3500 runners took part. As I crossed the line the runner next to me showed me his watch with his time... I recognised the watch and then realised it was the same runner I had crossed the line with at the Great North Run. When I mentioned it, he remembered me too.<br /> Some may say that this isn't that much of a coincidence because we clearly run at around the same pace so we're bound to finish together. But with both races having such large numbers running, the starts are staggered. We would have therefore had to cross the start line together and finish together.